Hermes' List
by DaughterofWinter
Summary: In the Last Olympian, Hermes gave Percy a list of children that he wanted Percy to bring to camp. Shouldn't be too hard, right? who wouldn't want to go to a summer camp they've never heard of with a complete stranger?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! Thanks for clicking on my story :) I think this is the longest chapter I have ever written, and for that reason it is probably my best, any feedback is welcome. I hope you enjoy the story :D.**

***Lighting strikes the computer desk* oh all right, I do not own Percy Jackson or his world. **

**This story is from the point of view of a child of Hermes.**

You know those days when the only reason you wake up is because you think life can't get any worse, heck it might actually get better? That's the kind of morning I had the day after my mom's last breakup. After crying and calling her friends, all of whom were either on dates themselves or sleeping, she had collapsed on the couch and wailed. If I hadn't felt so sorry for her, I would have reminded her that I had predicted that Kyle would be the cheating kind the night they met. Still, I guess no one could have predicted that the relationship would only last a week.

My mom has trouble with staying in relationships that last longer than a month or two tops. Most of the time, she never gets a second date. Sometimes I wish she would just go out and have fun with her friends, other times I just think it's a miracle that I'm an only child. My mom had me the summer after she graduated high school. I've asked her about my dad, she always says that he was the nicest guy she ever dated. To be honest, I don't think she really remembers him. Her story changes slightly every time, the only facts that stayed the time were a) he was handsome (she thinks all of her dates are handsome), b) he a magician that was on tour when they met (she had wanted to be his assistant), c) He loved her enough to marry her. You can see how that last one worked out.

Sometimes I feel bad for her, she's only 29, but she mostly acts like a middle schooler. This particular day, though, there was nothing I could do but make a pot of coffee and run to the bus stop. The buses used at my school are huge. Rumor has is that they used to be used for a prison. Whatever the reason, the windows don't open, you can see blue stripes through the yellow paint, and there's about twice as many kids as you would usually find on a school bus. Who doesn't want to get up at 6 AM for that?

Like most seating with any connection to school, there is an art to picking a seat on our bus. No one except a few smaller kids and 'problem children' sit in the first few rows. I had skipped school two days in a row so I wasn't in trouble yet this week (see how that works? No school, no trouble).The middle rows are complicated and divided among the various social groups. The truth is there is no way to sit by yourself, so you have to choose your group wisely. Nerds and the like target 'stupid' kids like me and put us down using every 5 syllable word they know. 'Good Kids' won't let me sit next to them because they're afraid I'll break something and blame it on them. That left the popular kids (not really an option), and the trouble makers. See this is where it gets tricky; normally I'd try to squeeze in between a good kid group and someone else. Usually this 'someone else' is a Goth kid who completely ignores me and scares everyone else. He, unfortunately, was nowhere to be found. Maybe he went to a Better Place, otherwise known as the local arcade/candy store.

"You know the rules Andy!" our bus driver barked, "You have to sit down!"

Our bus driver is probably the best reason for the rumors about our bus being from a prison. She came with the bus and a voice like a sonic boom. I'd never seen her stand up or even turn around, but I'd imagine that causing her to take her hands off her beloved steering wheel would have dire consequences for me.

I sat without thinking. Big mistake. I was sitting at the edge of the 'trouble makers' group. You might think I'd fit in here, but no. I stick to pranks on people who pick on me, copied homework assignments, and occasionally lifting a few things from the school store. Everything's over priced there anyway. The 'Trouble Makers' in my school are actually the bad kids. The kind of people that will punch you in the stomach just to see what kind of face you make and stay out all night partying. I sank back into my seat when I saw that four of them were drinking coffee. I've had hot coffee poured on my shirt before, and believe me, it hurts.

One of the kids smiled. "Decided to join our little group?" He broke my toe once.

"Missed us?" added another, this was the one who ripped my backpack in two earlier this year.

I tried to decide whether answering "yeah, I would have gotten you a card, but the store was all out of valentines" would get me a laugh or get me pummeled when a senior in the group, Danny, stood up.

"I'm so sick of sitting here with this stupid brake digging into my legs," he grabbed his backpack and glanced at me. "Switch seats with me."

I gulped. Danny sat in the very back, deep into trouble maker territory, next to an emergency brake that was supposedly broken and an 'emergency exit', that according to the rumors, was fake and had never worked. I didn't want to be surrounded by these guys, especially in the very back where no one could hear my screams. That said, if Danny wanted to, he could always pick me up and throw me in the back and I'd be in the same situation. I switched seats.

The back seat seemed like an afterthought of the designers, or maybe the builders. It was smaller than all the other seats, and if I couldn't sit forward with my legs in front of me, you can imagine how uncomfortable Danny must have been. I turned sideways so my feet were in the isle and brushing against the emergency brake. And that's when something happened that made me wish I had stayed home.

The bus stopped. One minute our bus was going 40 miles an hour on a 25 mile per hour road, and the next it was like the bus driver slammed on the brakes with all the strength in her 5'9 body. The bus screeched and might have hit something, and the bus was smoking from underneath. I wondered if it was the traffic or if one of the kids had finally pushed our bus driver to her breaking point. Then the last thing I wanted to hear reached my ear.

"WHO STOPED THE BUS? WHO PULLED THE EMERGANCY BREAK?" Still, the bus driver- I feel bad now that I never learned her name- didn't turn around. She didn't need to, every student on that bus turned for her, and all their eyes landed on me.

"I didn't!" I insisted, "It wasn't me!"

"Too soon, Brainless," a nerdy girl named Gweniver sneered, "no one accused you yet. Guilty, much?"

"No, no, it must have been-" I turned to look at the trouble makers, certain that they had planned this. They stared right back, with a mix of awe and- was that respect? –in their eyes, and I knew that hadn't done this.

"EVERY BODY OUT!" There was a mad scramble to obey the furious bus driver's instruction. Some of the boys had a hard time not tripping because of their baggy pants and some of the nerds slowed down the line with their piles of books, but at last everyone was out of the bus... except me.

"Oooh, no you don't," The bus driver grabbed the back of my collar before I could get down the stairs. "You're not getting away with this." She let me get off the bus but held on to my collar the whole time and marched me a safe distance away. Without letting go, she grabbed a cell phone from one of the juniors and called the school. I tried not to listen, but she still had me by the collar and she was yelling, so I couldn't help but over hear her tragic tale of innocent students' safety being put into jeopardy because of one evil delinquent who lived on adrenaline and the fear he caused in others. More importantly, she was pretty sure that this Andy Kensmen had damaged her bus. Her precious bus, that she had cared for and repaired herself for years, could be seriously hurt by this criminal.

For a second, I tried to lift my legs off the ground slightly, to see if the bus driver would let go at the change in weight. No luck. She just held on tighter and rougher than before. At this point it was becoming more difficult to breath. She must have cut off too much oxygen from my brain, because I began to hallucinate. I saw small dragons, a little bigger than fat chickens, running around the bus. Maybe they were what stopped the bus. Maybe a nearby farmer was experimenting and mutating chickens and serpents and came up with this. Maybe I was insane.

I had to get away from her, first, so I could breath, and also so I could clear my head and figure out if I really was hallucinating. I tapped her shoulder, she didn't notice. "Miss?" I whispered, "Miss?"

She slapped my hand away and hissed "Missus! Missus or ma'am, I've been married 12 years now."

I wanted to ask "really?" but decided against it and whispered, "I have to go to the bathroom._ Now_."

She pulled the phone away from her ear, "Are you serious? Can't you wait? There isn't even a bathroom."

I shrugged, "I still have to go." Before I even finished my sentence, her face was within an inch of mine and red as a cooked lobster.

"You're already in serious trouble," her voice was even scarier when it was quiet, "but if you aren't back within three minutes, I will personally make sure you are skinned alive."

I nodded slowly, almost unaware of what I was doing. She let go of me. After a few seconds spent marveling at the fact that I was still alive, I raced past the other kids to the woods. Sighing, I sat down behind a large tree and tried to catch my breath.

"Nice job getting away," a voice came from my left.

I looked up and saw a boy a few years older than me with dark hair, standing behind a bush. My first thought was that maybe he came over here for the same reason I pretended to, and wow this is awkward, but then he came closer and I realized that he was here to talk to me.

"Hey," he gave me a half grin, "are you Andy Kensmen?"

I said the first thing that came to my mind. "Stalker." Then I face palmed myself, "oh, sorry, you probably just heard about Andy Kensmen, the maniac who pulled the emergency brake."

He grinned and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Did you? Pull the emergency brake?"

"No," I answered, "Good luck finding anyone who'll believe that though."

The kid shrugged, "I believe you." He stuck out his right hand, "Percy Jackson."

"You already know my name," I shook his hand. I turned and peaked at the bus, which was still smoking. "Since you believe me, and are most likely the only person who doesn't think I'm crazy, do you see a bunch of fat baby dragons running around the bus?" Some of them weren't hanging around the bus anymore; two or three were coming closer to the woods. If I were a bit more paranoid, I'd say they were following me.

"Hm?" Percy looked over my shoulder. "Oh, those aren't dragons. They're cockatrices, don't worry though, those guys have been blinded."

"Oh," I'm sure I had a blank look on my face, "well that's…good."

"A cockatrice can kill you with one look."

"Ah…"

Percy glanced at the bus driver who was screaming into her phone. "She looks mad."

"No kidding."

"So," Percy tilted his head to the side, "wanna skip?"

I stared at him. "You want to skip school? After this? They'll have the police on us faster than you can say 'cockatrice'. Where you even want to go?"

Percy laughed. "I don't know, I thought maybe I could meet your mom."

"What." I stared at this weird, weird guy. "You want to meet my mom? Sorry, but I'm not sure I'm ready to move forward in this relationship."

He laughed again. He sure does a lot of that. "I'd invite you to my house, but it's a long ways away, long _long_ ways away. Besides, I kinda have a message for her. And," he added, "I'm also hoping you have some good food."

I know what you're thinking. Some guy just walks up to me in the woods and asks to meet my mom? Creepy. But he was sort of cool, and well, I didn't want to go back to the murderous bus driver. "OK," I said, "but I'm not sharing the pop tarts."

The way home was shorter than the bus ride, mostly because we walked through private property and didn't stop at intersections. By the time we got to my street, most of the people were at work or school, but I knew my mom would be there because she works from home for a shopping website. I was worried, however, that the local police would notice two kids walking around, clearly not on their way to school (I had left my backpack on the bus, I'm not sure if Percy even had one) and immediately call all the schools in the area. I was contemplating whether or not the police were allowed to just pick up kids skipping class and take them to the police department, when Percy said, "Is that your mom?"

I looked at the house he nodded to. Yes, that was my mother with the top half of her body hanging out of the window of her second floor bedroom. As much as I love her, I'm kind of glad our neighbors weren't there to see her messed up hair, her streaks of mascara left over from the night before, and that she was still in her neon pink dressing gown. I felt guilty for the embarrassed flush that made my face almost as red as the bus driver's had been earlier, but Percy didn't seem to care that my mom looked insane.

"Hi, Mom!" I called, "don't freak out!"

My mom left the window and reached the front door just before we did. "Andy!" she cried and threw her arms around me. I returned her hug, and then walked in so that I wasn't blocking Percy.

"Andy!" she said again, "the school called, they said you caused an accident, and then you got lost in the woods! I should call them-"

"No!" Percy and I said together. "No," I repeated, "that's ok, mom. We were gonna grab some snacks, and then I think Percy wanted to talk to you."

"Percy?" My mom turned and looked at him.

"Oh yeah, Mom, this is Percy…. Johnson?"

"Jackson."

"Right."

"Nice to meet you" Percy smiled at my mom. Mom looked surprised, I didn't usually bring people over, but I guess she was ok with it, because she smiled and said "Likewise", and then went to grab a huge bag of popcorn for us.

Soon we were sitting in the living room, and I was really getting anxious to find out what Percy had to say. He looked kind of nervous, and he ate a _lot_ of popcorn.

"I guess," he started, "I guess I can start by saying I'm a relative, on your dad's side." He turned to me.

I don't know what I expected him to say, but it wasn't that. My dad? He and my mom basically had a one night stand; he never knew she was pregnant. I stared back at Percy, and I think he could tell that I didn't believe him.

"His name is Hermes. He's my cousin." Percy continued.

"So, what?" my voice sounded weird and foreign, "you guys me to come to a family reunion? Listen," I shook my head, "he doesn't even know I was born."

Percy shifted uncomfortably, "Sure he does. And, well, he wants you to come to camp with me."

I rubbed the back of my neck, irritated. "You seem really nice, but showing up and telling me that my dad- who doesn't even know about me- sent _you_, to bring me to a _camp,_ and it's not even summer….It's just not believable." I turned to my mom, certain that she'd be as weirded out as I was, but she just sat there saying "Hermes…Hermes…" She grinned.

"That's it! Hermes the Magnificent! The magician. Honey, that was your father's name."

Percy choked on his popcorn. "Hermes the Magnificent? The Magician?"

I frowned. "Well just because he knows what my dad's name is, doesn't mean that he's telling the truth."

"It's a pretty unusual name for someone to guess," Percy pointed out. True.

"Even if you are telling the truth," I reached for more popcorn, "you're asking me to leave and go live with my father at some camp for how long? Sounds to me a little like a cult."

"It's not a cult, just a, well, I guess you could call it a family business." Percy fiddled with a loose thread on his chair. "And your dad won't be there, but your siblings- er, half siblings-will." He seemed to gain a bit more confidence and looked me in the eye. "It's a great place, way better than school, especially for people like us."

"People like us?"

"There's some stuff that kind of runs in the family," Percy answered, "dyslexia, ADHD."

Check and check. I'd been diagnosed with those back in first grade.

"Listen," Percy leaned forward, "What if I could prove, first of all, that your dad knows your here, and second, your dad wants you to come to camp with me? Enough to send, a- a sign?"

I stared at him. What did he think my dad was going to send a rabbit in a hat from wherever he was? Maybe the rabbit would have a message written on the collar _'Hey son, sorry I never bothered telling you I was alive or checking to see if you were alive, but it'd be really great if you went to camp with that Percy kid. Thanks, Dad.'_

"Sure," I answered.

"What kind of sign?" my mom asked softly.

Percy bowed his head it almost looked like he was praying. Then he took the last of the popcorn (which I was planning to eat by the way) and tossed it into the fireplace. For a split second there were orange flames, and then they –and the popcorn- were gone. He turned and nodded at me, "Look up."

I did, and yelped when I saw something glowing just above my head. "What is it?" I got up and ran around the room, trying to get away from it. My mom gasped and backed up so that I wouldn't run into her. She looked confused.

"It's a caduceus" Percy answered, "Your dad's symbol. So," he gave me a half smile, "I guess this means you're coming to camp with me?"

I frowned at him. "Are you going to explain all of this to me?"

He thought about it. "No. There's a video at camp that'll do that for me."

"Well then," I said feeling suddenly tired, "I guess we should get to camp."

**So, tell me what you think! (please?) and enjoy a life filled with PJ books, fan fiction, and movies *nodnod***

**I'm not 100% sure about the ending... but I hope you like it,**

**God bless**


	2. Chapter 2

I am pleased to present Hermes's List chapter 2!

I'm pretty happy with this chapter, because I think it has more of a plot than chapter 1. Before I start there are three things I need to say.

I own nothing you recognize. Nothing

I forgot to mention on the last chapter that a Cockatrice is a monster from Greek myths with the head of a cock, wings of a fowl, and tail of a dragon that is hatched by a reptile from a cock's egg and can kill you with a glance.

My sister is to blame for all the food. She starting talking about Cinnamon rolls, and it just took off from there

On to the story! Enjoy!

I was expecting early morning phone calls wishing me happy birthday, but I wasn't expecting one from my birthmother.

I picked up phone in the hallway the on the third ring and brought it back to my bedroom. "Meredith?" I haven't called her mom since I was seven.

"Liddy!" She exclaimed softly, "happy birthday." She paused.

"Thanks," I said after a minute, wishing I could go back to sleep.

"I, em, I wanted to give you a heads up" Meredith continued, "I spoke to your father recently."

Recently, to Meredith, was a loose term. He could have spoken to her last night, a week ago, maybe a month. Meredith isn't good at keeping track of things, time, or drinks

"He, well, he can't come to your party." No surprise there. "But, he is sending a friend, with a gift." That did surprise me. Maybe he gave me a piece of candy or something when I was little, but I can't remember receiving any gifts from my Dad. Meredith often complained that he didn't even pay child support.

"Oh, well that's nice of him." I said my next few words carefully, "will you be coming?"

"Me? Oh, no dear. I, um, I'm not really feeling well-" In other words, she was hung over, "-and Dan, you know, he's awfully worried about paying for gas." Dan, aka the reason Meredith started drinking, and also my stepfather. Back when Meredith was my mother, she had had a good job, she was eloquent and had a lot of friends. She started dating Dan was I was about four. She kept talking about my dad, how nice he was, what an important job he had, and it was too bad no one appreciated what he had done for the modern world. She never gave any examples of why he was so great, but in her eyes, my dad was a god, and Dan couldn't really compare. Unfortunately, Dan figured this out. That's when their relationship took a dangerous turn. Three years ago Child Services stepped in and put me in a foster home, and last year I was moved to this one.

"That's alright. Thanks for the call," I know I didn't sound incredibly sincere, but at least I tried to keep my voice soft so that it wouldn't hurt her head.

"Oh, it's nothing," ain't that the truth, "have a great day! Goodbye, dear."

"Bye," my voice probably sounded as fake as my smile, but it didn't matter, my mother was gone, and I had a few more minutes to sleep before-

"Lydia!" my foster mother knocked on my door.

I groaned.

"Come on, Lydia!" her voice grew louder. "I made cinnamon rolls."

Were a couple of rolls swirled with cinnamon and covered with frosting worth sacrificing a few moments of precious sleep on my birthday? Heck yes.

I wasn't disappointed. The cinnamon rolls were buttery and sweet to perfection. Forget about the cake, cinnamon rolls are the best birthday treat ever.

Karen, my foster mom, was washing her plate. "Emily will be over soon to help us set up."

"Should we save her some cinnamon rolls?" I asked as seriously as I could manage, and my Karen tried to hide her grin. Emily was 6 dress sizes smaller than me, and would never gain another pound if she could help it. Still, she was a friend of the family- I mean, Karen and her husband Joe's family- and she was always nice to me. Loyal to a fault, she was Yellow Walk Street's perfect, preppy angel.

Karen grabbed her purse and said, "I'm going to pick up the cake. Make sure Joe doesn't drink all the soda before I come back!"

"On it!" I bounced out of my seat and put my plate in the sink. Then I went outside to the pool area. We have a kind of small house, and it probably needs a new paint job, but the pool is spectacular. There's a small series of waterfalls at one end and a tiny island at the other where you can put food or pool toys. There's also a grill area connected and little gardens in between the paths and seats. That was the main reason I wanted to have my 13th birthday party here, there are a million places I could hide pranks.

Over the past few weeks, I had very carefully planned out various practical jokes. I had decided against putting a few drops of yellow food coloring in the pool while everyone was swimming (A, it was too gross for my 13th birthday party, and B, I've pulled that prank before several years ago at another girls party) and didn't want to tamper with my delicious cake, so I settled on super hot peppers and spam in the veggie dip (you deserve it if you're eating healthy food on my birthday), a remote controlled skunk that sprayed bubble gum flavored liquid instead of….you know, and a fake rock that broke when you put weight on it, which caused your foot to land in a bowl of pudding. The pudding didn't even taste good, which is why I was ok with it being destroyed.

I had prepared them the day before, and now that I had a few extra minutes, I double checked everything. That's the problem with amateur pranksters; they never take the time to make sure everything's set up right. I stopped when I heard the doorbell ring. _Emily's here_, I thought to myself, and hoped she wouldn't walk into one of my pranks before the other guests arrived.

Sure enough, Emily was there with a frilly pink skirt and white tank top, holding a white and green striped package. She turned when she heard me coming around the side and beamed. "Happy birthday, Lydia!"

I smiled back, "Thanks! Come one in." I think Emily was even more excited than I was. She skipped into the house, plopped her present on the table, and twirled to face me. "Lydia! Your mom said you got a new dress, can I see it? Ooh, I know it's going to look fantastic!" that's the thing about Emily, she's always telling people that they're beautiful, or amazing, or talented, and she actually believes it.

When she's in full "happy mode", it's contagious. I felt myself start to grin. "I'm putting the dress on later; we have to set up first."

Emily gave me her "sad smile", (she's the only person I know who smiles when she's sad) and I added, "So, the faster the party gets set up, the sooner we can see my dress. And, "I paused, "I might let you do my hair."

I used to think I was a fast worker, but I was nothing compared to Emily when hair and fashion were involved. She practically flew like Wonder Woman, setting up tables and chairs so fast that it seemed like they were appearing out of thin air. That scared me, what was she planning to do to my hair. Visions of Marie Antoinette style hair flashed before my eyes, and I tried to work slower as a form of sabotage, but I was no match for Emily the Invincible.

When I sat down to let her do my hair, I tried to convince myself that whatever she did to it couldn't end up that bad, and if it was, I could make it up to myself by eating those mini cupcakes Karen thought she had hidden so well. Emily must have sensed my nervousness, because she limited herself to straitening my hair a bit and creating small braids on either side of my head, close to my scalp. She said it was to keep my hair out of the way when I was in the pool. I didn't want to wear make up to a pool party (mascara, water, and party pictures don't mix well) but I slapped on some cheap chap stick to make Emily happy, and finally put on the dress.

The dress was a little unusual, strapless with a modern cut and a country style blue and white pattern, my dad- I mean, Joe- called it a redneck meets Project Runway dress. Of course I had my strapless blue bikini on underneath. At this moment, though, I wasn't really interested in what I was wearing; I wanted to know where Karen was with my chocolate cake! With sweet chocolate and vanilla frosting, M&Ms on the sides, and a layer of fudge in the middle, I couldn't wait. Besides, guests were going to arrive any minute, and everyone needed to be by the pool for my pranks to get the recognition they deserved.

I went back to the pool area, keeping a close eye on Emily so that she wouldn't destroy my practical jokes, and saw that Joe was heating up the grill.

"Happy Birthday!" He called out, "can you pass the meat?"

"Thanks, and yes," I handed him the handmade burgers he, Karen and I had mixed up yesterday.

Emily and Joe greeted one another and I looked around for Karen. "Joe, have you seen my cake?"

"Karen ran into some very bad traffic, apparently," Joe rubbed his hands together and looked at the meat longingly.

I would have sighed and collapsed, certain that the party would be ruined without my cake- oh yeah, and Karen- but a large blue van pulled up, followed by a silver pickup truck. The guests were arriving!

Soon most of the kids in my grade were in the pool and family friends were hanging around the grill. No one besides Emily was silly enough to wear an expensive outfit; they knew me well enough to expect at least one person to leave here with clothes ruined by my jokes. Karen showed up only ten minutes late, and my cake looked awesome. I had to wait for more guests to arrive before I could blow out any candles, but that was alright because Emily, aka the only person interested in eating the veggies, fell for my first prank of the day! I'm pretty sure she had never drunken that much sugary soda at one time before, and she looked just about ready to throw up, but in a few minutes she was fine.

I was rushing around, trying to greet everyone, when I ran into someone I didn't recognize. He was about two or three years older than me with a tan and dark hair- and a foot covered in chocolate pudding. "I missed it!" I cried. I had really liked that prank! Then I realized, that possibly was _not_ what this guy wanted to hear. I opened my mouth to apologize, but he laughed.

"Shame to waste the chocolate," He commented, "it_ is_ chocolate, isn't it?" I could tell from his accent that he wasn't from the south.

"Oh yeah, it's chocolate! But, em, you don't want to eat it," I grimaced.

"You're Lydia, right? Happy Birthday."

"Yup." I grinned, hoping that he knew me by my reputation as a master prankster.

"Yeah, your dad sent me, I hope that's ok…?" He looked uncertain.

I don't know what I was expecting; maybe a man in a suit who'd drop off my present and then leave, but this kid wasn't it. "Its fine," I gave him a smile so he could see I had no intention of biting him, and with my puny teeth it would have been pointless to try. "Hey, whoever you are, are you afraid of water?" I slipped off my dress, revealing my favorite bathing suit.

He had a peculiar look on his face, but then he changed it to a half smile. "My name is Percy Jackson, and I love the water."

"Then get in!" I leaped into the water and after a few seconds, he followed. We raced with a few other kids, and he won three times in a row before he claimed exhaustion and sat out a few contests.

The rest of the party went great. The neighbors' kids found my skunk and ran away screaming, only to realize that the spray was pink and tasted so good, they ran right back to get sprayed again.

After eating the cake, everyone gathered 'round for presents. Clothes, gift cards, and prank kits were very popular this year. The big surprise was Karen and Joe's gift: a kitten! She had a gorgeous calico coat and mischievous eyes, and she also explained why Karen was late coming to the party. We made a few s'mores when we finished the cake and played pool games until it was time for people to start leaving.

The last few people were driving away when Percy came up to me. "Here," Percy handed me something rectangular and flat, "I meant to give this to you when you were opening presents, but I was near the back…It's from your dad."

"oh," I looked at it. It was a cell phone, my first. "Thanks…you know, for delivering it."

Percy nodded, but he had a faraway look in his green eyes. "I'll be around town for a few days," he said at last, "we could talk. If you want to know more about your dad." I could see him tense up, gauging my reaction.

I didn't know what to think. What did this guy want? A date? To reconnect me with my father? Maybe he thought I'd share the snacks left over from the party.

That night at dinner (grilled shrimp and scallops wrapped in bacon with corn on the side) Joe asked me, "Who was that boy you were talking to after the party?"

I held up one finger while I finished chewing. "Percy. He was a friend of my dad's," I took a sip of grape juice, "Meredith told me he was coming to give me my dad's present."

"Oh? What did he give you?" Karen popped a scallop in her mouth.

"A cell phone."

"Really?" Joe raised his eye brows. "Maybe he wants you to call him."

I shrugged, "Maybe, he didn't leave me his phone number." Percy said he was going to be around for a few days though, maybe he wanted me to show interest and ask for my dad's number.

In that case, how was I supposed to find Percy? He said he would be "around" if I wanted to talk to him, was I supposed to wander aimlessly until I ran into him?

A bigger question grabbed my attention that night, while I was trying to get to sleep. Did I want to know more about my dad? Did I want to know about the man my mom praised so highly, but never showed up when things got bad? The man who was nowhere to be found when child services came, but sent a friend who knows how far to give me a present?

Which reminded me…. I got up and went to my dresser, where I had left my phone earlier. Possibly, my dad had already programmed his number in the phone, and if not, I could at least try out my new phone.

It wouldn't turn on. I tried another button. And another. Zilch, nada, nope.

What was this? Finally I started pressing random keys indiscriminately, until one of them caused watery mist to squirt out of phone and on my face. I stared at the phone in shock. Then it hit me. Of course! My dad was a prankster, just like me! As bummed as I was to not have a new cell phone, I liked knowing that I had something in common with him. Besides, now I knew the answer to my question: I definitely wanted to know more about this guy!

I was getting fed up looking for this Percy kid. There weren't many places to hide in Yellow Walk Street (yes, my town has only one real street with long, long driveways branching off of it), and I had spent three hours running around town looking for him. Did he really not give me any clue about where I could find him? I tried to remember what he said exactly, something about learning more about my dad, and being around town. Which told me nothing. I sighed and turned left into the town's park to sit down on a bench. And then I saw him. He was sitting on the little merry-go-round that had been in the park since the park's creation 30 years ago. There were neither animals, seats, nor a roof, only handles used to either hold on or spin it. This lack of childish decoration made it a slightly more respectable seat for a teenager, but at the moment I didn't care if he was sitting on a man eating purple horse, I was just glad to find him.

"Hey," I called out and began to walk over. His head jerked up, when Percy saw it was me, he nodded his head in greeting. "So," I continued, "is this what you meant by 'I'll be _around_ town'?"

"Huh?" He scrunched up his face in confusion.

"You're sitting on a merry-go-_round_."

"Ah, no actually, I meant to hang around town today. I was talking to- well, actually, I was talking your dad."

I stared at him. "Here?"

"Oh he's not here," Percy assured me, "not physically."

I sat down next to him on the merry-go- round, and felt about 6 years old doing it. "Did you call him then? Because I don't have his number."

Then Percy made a really bizarre face."Actually, I don't have his cell phone number." He sounded very surprised by this, like he had just realized it. "We were IM ing," he added.

"There's another thing. This isn't a real phone. It squirted water at me."

Now that _really_ surprised him. At first I thought he was in on the joke, but judging by the look on his face, he had no idea.

"It's ok," I grinned at him, "it's just a practical joke. I love jokes." I paused, and then asked "Is my dad a big fan of jokes?"

"Oh, yeah, he's really clever," Percy shifted so that he could look at me more comfortably. "How much do you know about your dad?"

I shrugged. "I saw him a few times when I was really young. After I turned four, Mer- my mother married someone else, but she still talked about him. She said he was nice and had an important job. That's all."

"At least she didn't tell you he was a magician," Percy muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Percy ran a hand through his hair. "Hey, do you have your phone? Maybe I can get it to work."

"Doubt it," I answered, "it's just a prank phone." But I handed it over, if for no other reason than to see him get water squirted in his face. He fiddled with it, trying different buttons like I had the night before, until he found that the space bar released the water. Last night I had frantically pushed several buttons at a time and jabbed at the buttons, but now that someone was calmly pressing the button the water came out as a fine mist. Percy continued pressing buttons, but the fake spacebar was the only one that responded. Frustrated, he hit the merry-go-round with the bottom end of the phone. I was going to snatch my birthday present away from him when I saw that he had accidentally clicked the button that held the back of the phone in place.

That wasn't what stopped me. There were gold coins the size of cookies falling out of the phone. I gaped, then came to my senses and gathered them to make sure none were left on the ground.

"Drachmas," breathed Percy. I frowned at him, not happy with what I thought was a reaction far too subdued.

"Um, do you not see the giant pieces of gold? Unless," I sat back as the realization struck me, "this is a prank."

Percy didn't answer. A moment or two later he said, "Lydia, I think your phone works, just not the way you think it does." He stood up. "I can show you how it works, but you have to promise not to freak out, alright?"

My first thought was that the phone was actually some kind of cleaning system for the coins, but if he wanted to try to call someone with it, that was fine too. I raised my right hand, "I hereby promise, not to freak out."

"Cool," He sprayed mist from my phone and threw one of the coins at it, which was fine, until the coin disappeared."O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Please show me…oh gods I should have figured this out before I made the call. Oh, I know, show me Annabeth!"

Just when I thought this guy was off his rocker, a picture began forming in the mist. It showed a pretty blond girl who was intensely reading a large old book. I raised my hand to stifle my scream.

"Annabeth," Percy seemed completely unconcerned. The blond girl jumped. "Percy!" she whispered, "Keep your voice down, I'm in the library!"

"Sorry!" Percy whispered back, then he reached back and grabbed my arm to make sure I didn't run away, "I was just showing Lydia here how to send an IM." He turned to me, "Iris-message."

"Hi, Lydia," Annabeth whispered.

I after choking on air, I struggled to get out "Are you..wizards?"

"Ah, no." Percy relaxed his grip on my arm a bit. "We're demigods. Think more ancient Greece, less Hogwarts."

"Demigods; the decedents of both a god and mortal, also known as half-bloods, half-gods, Heroes, or even half-lings, although personally I think the term 'half-ling' sounds a bit derogatory." This Annabeth girl was very happy to supply definitions; it made me wonder if the book she had been reading was a dictionary.

"So you're half-gods?" I put my hand on the merry-go-round to steady myself.

"So are you," Percy answered. "You're a daughter of Hermes. He sent me to tell you about this camp we have. We can get trained there; learn how to use our powers."

"What? I can't leave. The state put me in a foster home here." Karen and Joe wouldn't agree to this. Impossible.

Percy and Annabeth looked at each other.

"Lydia," Annabeth said, "your how old? 13? Demigods start attracting more attention when they're about 12. It sounds like you've been lucky, not many have attacked you yet. Now that you know about the gods and who you are, your demigod scent will be stronger. If you don't go to camp, the monsters will track you down and your family will be in danger."

I tried to think of a good argument, but I was completely overwhelmed. The thought of Karen or Joe being in pain, or even dying, because of me cut through my confusion and forced me to make a decision. "One more night," I said. "Give me one more night to spend with them, and tomorrow at eight o'clock I'll meet you here, and you can take me to this camp."

Percy nodded. I turned and left, too emotional and out of it to remember my manners. It didn't compute at the time but I think I heard Percy tell Annabeth "I love you" as I left the park.

As soon as I got home, I asked Joe and Karen if we could do something together. They picked out our favorite movies and the three of us crowed on the giant couch in our living room, wrapped in blankets. They sat for hours watching the screen, commenting, and laughing. I sat for hours watching their faces light up, and listening to the sound of their voices, as much as to memorize as to remind myself why I had to leave, so that there could be more nights like this for another foster kid.

Woah, I did not know it was going to get serious at the end.

Writing this story is a great experience for me, because the characters are really deciding what they want to do. This hasn't happened to me much before so it's really exciting

Btw, 13 is not too old to go on a merry-go-round and I would love to go on one :)

Critiques or Compliments, Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, I feel bad for taking to so long with this chapter, esp since your all leaving me such nice reveiws! I meant to have it written up earlier, but didn't for several reasons. The first was the 4th of July, I was out celebrating with my family, and then I had a dance rehersal and then recital, and then theres this character. I decided to write a character who turned out to be nothing like me, which made him a bit difficult to write. He probably would have driven me crazy in JH… none the less I hope you enjoy it! I wish it were a little better, if you have any ideas on how it could become better, please tell me : ).

Also, I don't own Percy! But I'm pretty sure that the greek gods are not copywritten, so they're kind of like public property, and I'm part of the public, so in that way, I kind of own the gods….. :D!

Some people say I'm cocky. I like to say that I use positive thinking to create a reality. This positive thinking usually has something to do with being the fastest individual on the planet. And maybe I could be, except that I usually don't have a coach. Someone decided about a hundred years ago that if you didn't have at least a C+ in most of your classes, you couldn't participate in sports, which makes absolutely no sense. If I had good grades, then I wouldn't need a sports scholarship, would I?

Between my less-than-stellar grades and the trouble that seems to follow me like a lost puppy, I can't seem to stay at the same school two years in a row, let alone stay on the teams. The sports I'm best at are basketball and track. I was immediately proclaimed "too skinny" by most football coaches to even be considered by them, but if they saw how well I could throw a ball, I think I could do well on a team. I've been on various basketball teams since I was six years old. A part of me loved it, all that win as a team/ loose as a team stuff. The rest of me wished I actually was a part of the team. Most people I only played with for one season, if that. That's when running really took over. I love to run; the feeling of it gives me more and more energy until I think I could cross the continent.

When I'm actually allowed to run, I set records. Unfortunately that rarely seems to happen. Teachers hate me (they can allegedly see evil intentions written all over my face. Like an upturned nose and curious eyebrows are my fault), one teacher invented a new letter grade for me: G-, for good riddance. Another teacher actually called me Slime ball Simon under her breath. It's hard enough getting through my assignments with dyslexia, but then there are the minor disasters that just happen to occur around me. I swear, I did not make the hole in the wall of my old school's cafeteria. I'm just the only one who saw the 9 ft tall man who _did_ break the wall. I also did not break the jungle gym (I don't know how they thought I did that, I was a scrawny eight year old at the time), nor did I throw the old track uniforms in the lake. I wouldn't even consider destroying the lake with all the sweat and dirt on those things; but I _was_ planning on burning them when I had the chance. Who thought it was a good idea for a boys' track team to wear booty shorts? Not Simon Goodheart.

This year, I was certain, would be different from all the rest. Turns out it was, but not the way I planned. All I wanted was a win at the national track meet, a good basketball team, and to not get kicked out of anything. What I got was out of this world.

First track meet of the year. I'd gotten this far, and I was certain nothing could ruin this day for me. I jogged in place, eager to start, and looked at my competition out of the corner of my eye. I didn't recognize anyone, and besides the fact that a few of them were hanging from trees, they seemed pretty normal. That's the thing about schools in the country part of the north east; they're pretty much in the middle of nature. The founders of this school had just carved out an oval track in the middle of a forest, and as a result some of the taller tree branches hung over the track. This was awesome on hot days, but it also meant that track was easily cancelled because of lightning.

Well, whoever was in charge of lightning needed to wait a few hours and give me my time to run. Everyone was lining up, and as soon as the whistle blew, I started to sprint. It felt amazing. I was enjoying every minute of it, when I heard a hideous sound. At first I thought it was someone's grandmother, shrieking- I mean, cheering- from the crowd. But the crowd was to my right, either sitting on beach chairs or jumping up and down in their excitement. The shrill whine that I heard was….behind me?

I turned, but kept running. Good news: I was in the lead. Bad news: hideous creatures were flying strait towards me. I only got a glimpse, but I saw ugly faces, feathers, and most importantly, claws reaching forward to grab me. I ran faster than ever. Adrenaline kicked in, and I didn't feel tired in the slightest. I went on and on, until I crossed the finish line- and kept right on going.

I hit my head on the tree branch, but I didn't stop. I leaped over large rocks, and tripped-er, I mean somersaulted - over smaller ones. I still felt like king of the world, but then the trees parted, and I saw the cliff. I just had time to think '_what I nice spot for a picnic'_ when I was airborne. For a split second, I was where I was meant to be: the fastest boy in the world, who could run so fast, he could fly. Then my face hit something hard and wet and my nose filled with salt water. Worse: I heard the screech I had been running from, and it sounded closer than ever.

I rolled and struggled in the water until my knees hit hard rock. Gasping, I lifted myself out of the cold water. As soon as my ears were emptied of water, they were filled with yelps and shrill cries of pain. I turned and saw a boy much older than myself slashing at the- what were they? Demons?- with a sword. I don't know about you, but I don't normally bring swords with me to track meets. Irresponsible, I know, but I missed the "Demon slaying equipment" booth at the last fair.

I struggled to run in the water, to reach the shore. The water weighed me down, and tugged at my clothes. Once there, I grabbed a sharp black rock, and flung it at the demon face. Bull's-eye. The creature fell in the water, and the boy stabbed it through the heart. I reached for another rock, and another. I didn't even bother watching to see if I hit my mark. Their squawks merely confirmed what I already knew, we were winning. I raised my hand again, with a gray rock as sharp as an arrow, but stopped when I saw that the last demon was flying away.

The silence after the demon screams and the sound of my heart beating out of my chest was shocking. The only sound was the crashing waves.

"Nice job" I turned to look at the speaker. He was a dark-haired boy who was younger than I initially thought, and was still standing knee deep in the ocean.

I stared. "You're holding a sword." Totally rude, but sometimes I just say whatever pops into my head.

He looked surprised. "You can see through the mist?" He began walking closer and pulled a cap out of his pocket. He touched the cap to the tip of the sword; it looked a bit like a funny little hat until the sword _shrunk_. He was left with a normal looking pen. I kinda wished that he had just left it as a sword, it made everything seem much cooler.

I shrugged and backed away a little, "I don't know if you have bad eyesight or something, but it's a perfectly clear day. There's no mist out here."

"Not that kind of mist." The kid –maybe he was 15 or 16?- cocked his head. "Does this sort of thing…happen a lot?"

I stared at him incredulously, "Do I get attacked by demons a lot? No, actually, I don't."

"Harpies." He corrected automatically. "Well, do you get attacked by other things?"

"No." I wasn't going to tell this guy I'd just met about the man I saw with one eye in the middle of his forehead, or the goat that looked like it was talking. I definitely wasn't going to tell him about the time I told my mom that wheat cereal was gross and the plants outside my house attacked me.

"Ah, well…good for you…" I don't think he believed me.

"I think I should go back now-" I started to turn away, but then I noticed something even weirder about this guy. "Hey! Why are you still dry?" I could still feel the salt and water clinging to my body and clothes uncomfortably, but he was completely dry.

My outburst was greeted by a good natured grin. "Water and I get along very well. I don't get wet unless I want to."

"Not fair!" I shook my head in disgust. "Water hates me. I can't even run fast in it. It's like my kryptonite." I tried to ignore the fact that a) this guy was apparently 'best buddies' with the water, and b) there is no way he clothes could be dry. I don't care if he's friends with every element known to mankind, he could not stand in the ocean and not get wet. '_Clearly_', I thought to myself, '_he is a raving lunatic and he is dragging me into his delusions._'

This idea gained more of my support when he laughed; apparently he thought I was funny. Or maybe he just drank too much salt water.

He shook his head, "you can already see through the mist, this might be easier than I thought. Percy Jackson."

"Huh?"

"I just introduced myself."

"Oh," Percy? What kinda weirdo name was that? "Um, Simon Goodheart."

"So," Percy walked by me so that he could sit on the rocks, "how many schools have you been to?"

Bizarre question, but one with a simple answer. "I haven't kept track."

Percy nodded. "How'd you like to change schools again?" I wasn't exactly jumping at the bit. He must have seen my hesitation, because he added, "I promise, it's a lot better than regular schools, it's not even exactly a school to tell you the truth…more like camp."

"I don't have the grades to get into most special schools, except, you know, military schools… and that kind of thing."

"Oh, that's ok," Percy looked totally unconcerned, and it occurred to me that he didn't seem like the strait A type either, "your fighting skills are already pretty good. You'll probably do really well there."

"Are you serious?" I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes. "What kind of school- or, camp- is this?"

"An awesome camp," He grinned from ear to ear. "Ok, ok," he added when he saw my expression, "It's a camp for heroes in training."

"You just lost your new recruit."

"Aw c'mon."

"How on earth am I supposed to believe in a school, which is really a camp, which trains…heroes? What makes you think I could be, or even want to be, a hero?" Such a nice guy. Too bad he was totally loopy. He even thought dyslexic, ADHD kids were as special as the guidance councilors said we were.

Percy scratched his head. "Would it sound too cliché if I said it was in your blood? Listen," he leaned forward, "you are the son of a mortal, your mom, and a god. That makes you a demigod."

"What?" I sighed, "not meaning to be rude, but, I don't believe in this god of yours."

"The Greek gods. They're real."

"Right." I stuffed my hands in my pockets. "Well, do you have any proof of these gods?"

Percy gave me a half smile, "You saw the sword. And the harpies. And you saw some of my demigod powers."

For some reason that made me nervous. "Your demigod powers?"

"Son of Poseidon. Water pretty much does what I want it to. And you," he nodded, "are a son of Hermes."

"What makes you so sure of that?"

"First of all," Percy stood up, "how fast you were running. Did you know Hermes is the fastest of all the Olympians? Also, the before mentioned fighting skills. And then there's this," he took something from his pocket and held it out for me to see. "It's a list," he declared, "of all the children of Hermes."

"….What did you do to it. Dude," I shook my head, "that thing is basically destroyed." The paper was creased and frayed; the ink was even slightly faded, although the names were still legible. Still, it looked several years old and beaten up, with various stains.

"What?" Percy demanded, "I've been traveling with it, and I'm not allowed to use a plane."

I don't know what kind of crazy parent lets their kid carry a sword around in their pocket (albeit one in pen form) but won't let him ride a plane. It seemed the more I learned about this guy the stranger he seemed.

"How _have_ you been traveling?"

"Mostly underwater." Percy's face brightened, "Hey! I can bring you to camp that way! The other kids I brought to camp weren't next to the ocean, you see, but this'll be easy!"

"Um yeah, how about we run instead?"

"Point taken, out of your comfort zone. But seriously, we aren't _that _far away. I'll just create an air bubble for you and we'll be there in a few hours."

At this point, 80% of me believed him. The other 20% was ranting and raving at both of us, telling me that we had lost our minds. All of me was wondering if he had gills. Either way, I wasn't thrilled at the prospect of more water. I was serious when I said that it was like my kryptonite. As far as I know, there's no magical reason for this, water just makes it difficult to run. On the other hand, if Percy could do everything he said he could, then his whole story was almost certainly true. I made my decision.

"You have four minutes to create this giant air bubble thing. If it looks like it'll keep me alive, I will go with you."

He looked like he won a three layered cake. "Great! C'mon in!" He jumped in the water and quickly disappeared from view. I went in more slowly, hoping that he was telling the truth and wouldn't drown. When the water was above my waist, I leaned forward and slipped under water, holding my breath. A hand grabbed me, and I almost panicked before I saw that it was Percy. He dragged me quickly to his air bubble and tossed me inside. The bubble was on the floor of the ocean, so for now, at least, I could walk normally.

He was telling the truth! I was a demigod! And he was bringing me to a camp designed for us? Maybe, this camp would have a coach, or a trainer, that could train me to be the best runner I could ever imagine.

Thanks to my sister for reading through this and fixing some of my terrible spelling (also, I finished this at 2 am, and had to make sure that it made sense!). I'm hoping to have the next chapter up in a few days, and I think it's going to be just a bit darker….

Anyway God bless, read Percy Jackson, and hope for a good PJ movie this year!


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